Team Application: Taufik Indrakesuma

-Your Name and age
Taufik Indrakesuma, age 22

-How you found out about Team Unknown Stars
Googling "Magic the Gathering teams" in a search for a good team to join.

-Your Magic accomplishments
top 8, Indonesian Nationals 2006
66th, GP Manila 2008 (missing out on day 2 on tiebreaks, heartbreaker)
top64 GP Singapore 2009
20th place, PT Honolulu 2009
day 2, GP Bangkok 2009 (missed out on the money due to a horrible 0-3 first draft)

-The last three major tournaments you attended and your record at each of them
GP Singapore 2009 (0 byes) - 6-2 day 1, 3-3 day 3
PT Honolulu 2009 - 8-2 constructed, 3-3 limited
GP Bangkok 2009 (3 byes) - 6-2 (3-2 really) day 1, 2-4 day 2

-A link to your DCI Rating page
https://webapp.wizards.com/ratings.aspx?action=search_member&personid=1710712&brandid=1
If the link doesn't work:
2030 Constructed
1721 Limited
1928 Total

-Why you play competitive Magic
Two reasons. 1st, I love the game. There has never been any other game that I have been willing to spend this much time on. It's complex, challenging, and a lot of fun. 2nd, I'm extremely competitive and I love the thrill of grinding out win after win against high-level opponents.

-What your main reasons are for wanting to join the team
I've been playing magic on and off for almost 10 years, but I only decided to seriously have a go at the pro level in 2008. Since then, one major component that I feel I'm lacking is a network of other serious players who are also looking to improve. Without that network, I've been forced to rely on whatever information I could scrounge up from the net, and a couple of friends who I can routinely playtest with. I prepared for PT Honolulu only playtesting with 1 person and only using MTGO decklists on "Decks of the Week" (I didn't even have an MTGO account until after that PT).
I really think that joining a team full of people who are as serious and dedicated about the game as I am will help me improve my game. Not only will the playtesting and deckbuilding be more fruitful, but the discussions about plays and matchups in general will be enriching and will help everyone improve their game.

-What you think you would bring to the team that makes you stand out above other applicants
I think my main assets to the team would be:
1. the sheer amount of time I have on my hands to playtest as well as contribute to discussions in the forums
2. my logic in figuring out the correct plays in any given situation and/or matchup in general

-What your strengths as a Magic player are
I've loved strategy games, brain-teasers, game theory, and puzzles in general since I was a kid, so I've really been able to develop that part of my brain since early on. As such, the strongest part of my game is my technical ability to always calculate the right sequence of plays, as well as the ability to read opponents based on the subtleties of their specific plays.

I also pick up on constructed formats and metagames very quickly, and I've always been quite good at tweaking decklists in order to get the best percentages in a given metagame.

-What your weakness as a Magic player are
I think that one of my main weaknesses as a Magic player is my aversion to certain types of decks, specifically control decks like 5cc. I have often found myself acknowledging that some form of control deck is one of the best decks in the format, and yet refused to play it simply because it didn't suit my playstyle.

Another hole in my game (which is clearly visible on my ratings page) is my limited game. Prior to PT Honolulu, I've always found testing for limited to be difficult (it's hard to even get 3v3 team drafts running in Indonesia). It was only after the PT that I realized how important MTGO is to really improving. Since then, I've been trying to work on my limited game, and it's starting to show.

-What the main formats that you play and focus on are
standard, block constructed, and recently, draft

-Which format you think you're most proficient in
block constructed, because it's relatively easy for me to figure out the whole format in a very short amount of time, so I usually have an edge early on.

Hope you guys think I'm a good fit for the team.

Cheers,
Taufik

Well, I'm heading to Austin, so I hope to see you guys there. Looking forward to see your team's take on the format.